Children's smiling faces and high fives will ease Allison Piercy's pain after hundreds of kilometres on a mountain bike this July.
She'll join the Cairns to Karumba bike ride, an epic journey of almost 800 kilometres across Far North Queensland.
The ride raises money for the Cairns School of Distance Education, which supports many of the kids in the rural and remote communities Allison will be riding through.
"I'm really passionate about helping kids, they get very excited and really into it," Allison said.
"They make welcome signs and come out and cheer us on!
"It brightens their world a little bit to have people ride into town and support them. Seeing all the people you're helping is really awesome."
It's a labour of love for Allison who grew up in Cairns and now works at the Department of Human Services in Brisbane.
"It's a great opportunity to support the community I grew up in," Allison said.
Allison only returned to mountain biking a few years ago and will ride around 100 kilometres a day over the seven day event. She'll complete the mountain bike section of the ride, through cattle stations and along unsealed roads. Her mother and grandfather will support her along the way.
"I'm feeling really positive about the ride. I'm really good at self-motivation, positive self-talk and not giving up," Allison said.
"If you want something bad enough you'll make it happen."
The C2K ride starts in Cairns on Saturday 29 June and travels through Atherton, Mt Garnet, Mt Surprise, Georgetown, Croydon, Normanton and Karumba.
Allison has already raised over $1,000 for distance education, half of her fundraising goal.
